Allie's Vintage Alley

Dominique Gault Paris Building miniature hand painted. Signed on back Gault France 1994 Mk. Bottom marked 203 N o2. No chips or cracks does have 3 tiny flicks on roof top located near left front corner, Back edge near right side 3rd shingle from right and front right side first shingle second row. Height 2 inch X 1 X 1 /4 inch. A must have.

Jean-Pierre Gault is an architect and artist born in Bordeaux in 1940 and is primarily a creator of artistic paintings. In the early 1980's, Jean-Pierre saw miniature terracotta houses made by an artisan in Ibiza and started developing the idea. As a resident of St Paul de Vence and seeing tourists photographing the old historic streets and houses, he came to the realization that aside for postcards there were no products available for the tourists to go home with great memories of the regions. He initially made miniature houses out of wood, with windows marked with a branding iron, tin and porcelain, but the efforts and costs of such creation was prohibitive.

Jean-Pierre then met with Jean Derval (1925-2010), a well-know ceramist from Vallauris who has actually worked with Picasso. Their collaboration over a few years allowed them to develop and fine-tune the fabrication process from creating miniature houses in ceramic. Upon the creation of the first houses, Jean Derval ceased to be involved however remained as a great friend to Jean-Pierre (and his brother Dominique), who are both extremely grateful for him and his contribution. The following sets of miniatures houses depicting Provence and Paris date from the early 1980's and are credited to Jean Derval and Jean-Pierre Gault in a book where the photo appeared.Starting in 1986, Dominique runs the business completely and Jean-Pierre's role is of an artistic consultant. At this point, Dominique travels throughout France and other countries and participates in various conventions. The success is immediate - television appearances, radio interviews, articles in newspapers and magazines becomes Dominique's daily life from 1986 to 1990.